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3
OVERVIEW
The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is a permanent instrument of trade
partnership between the Forum of Caribbean States (CARIFORUM)
1
and the
European Community (EC)
2
. The CARIFORUM-EU EPA, which was concluded on
December 16, 2007 and signed on October 15, 2008, represents a culmination of
three years of formal negotiations between the Parties.
1
Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St.
Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.
2
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
and United Kingdom.
In addition to other provisions, the EPA
provides a new long-term arrangement
for Trade in Services, because the
agreement allows for more favourable
opportunities and market access for
regional export services to the European
Union (EU). The Agreement further
offers an opportunity for the export of
services into the Dominican Republic
(DR), as a result of the Regional
Preference Clause, which ensures that
the market access opening in services,
which the DR provided to the EU, is
also made available to its negotiating
partners in the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM), and vice versa.
The EPA also provides asymmetry,
whereby CARIFORUM opened up
65-75% of their markets focusing
on sectors with greatest impact on
development and where investment
and technology transfer is required,
while the EU has opened up 90% of
its services market. Additionally, the
Protocol on Cultural Cooperation,
establishes the framework for greater
co-operation on exchanges regarding
cultural activities, and goods and
services between CARIFORUM and the
EU.
Given the economic importance of the
services sector to both the Caribbean
and the EU, the volume of trade in
services between the two regions,
and the inter-dependence of the
services sector with manufacturing
and agriculture, the EPA inevitably
includes rules for the treatment of
service suppliers and the provision of
services. Particularly, contractual service
suppliers have access in 29 sectors, and
independent professionals in 11 sectors,
having met conditions set out in the
agreement.
As the regional agency, leading the
implementation the 10th European
Development Fund (EDF) Regional
Private Sector Programme (RPSDP),
from March 2011 - December 2015
across CARIFORUM, the Caribbean
Export Development Agency (Caribbean
Export) undertakes a range of
programme-based activities, which has